Being anonymous has its power.
We like to give people the benefit of the doubt. We give someone a second, third, ninth chance because we know they’re only human. But what if they don’t want that second chance? What if they said exactly what they wanted to say, and they do not care who knows it?
I was thinking the other day, what would happen if no one knew who we were? We didn’t have a name that identified us. We all looked relatively similar. We could hide behind a mask.
Then I thought, about all the things I’ve always wanted to say to someone but never could because of fear. They knew who I was. They knew what I said.
Every conversation we have with someone is a mind game. Especially when we are first introduced to that person. We get a feel for what they like and if we have anything in common with them. If we don’t, we can’t simply just say, “We shouldn’t be friends.” We string them along. We let them follow us on social media or we give them our phone number, but we have no intention of being their friend.
But then I think about what would happen in the real world, not just our personal world. We have people like Hitler, Al Qaeda, Mussolini, corrupt politicians, and everyone else who has ever had a bad thought aimed at one specific group of people because of their differences. They say all that with people knowing their names, so imagine what they’d do if they could be anonymous. If they could say whatever is on their mind without any backlash.
Our world would be in more of a ruin than it already is.
People already hide behind usernames and anonymous accounts to bully people, so what would the world come to if we all had a fake identity we could hide behind?
I’d probably tell people what I thought of them. No holding back. If I like you then I’ll tell you why. If I don’t like you then I’ll tell you why. There would be no more mind games or guessing what someone is thinking about you. You’d know exactly what they thought. They’d tell you the flaws they think you have. They’d belittle who you are.
So, is the way society works today better than hiding behind an anonymous façade?
I think so because we tell the truth when it is important. We are kind to people because we would want the same response given to us. There would be no hostility or instant hatred. Speaking our deepest darkest secrets would only end in destruction. Sometimes mind games are the best outcome for all of humanity no matter how much we hate it—no matter how much we want to speak our mind.
